Many different hitch mechanisms are used on towing vehicles such as pick-up trucks. While some of the hitches attach to the rear of the towing vehicle adjacent the bumper, gooseneck and fifth wheel hitches attach to the towing vehicle closer to its rear axle. With an attachment point at or near the rear axle, the weight of the towed load can be more easily supported by the towing vehicle. For gooseneck hitches, it is desirable to attach a hitch structure directly to the frame of the towing vehicle, under the bed of the pickup truck, with a ball or similar towing coupling extending or extendable above the bed of the pickup truck. For many gooseneck hitches, the ball is made to be removeable or retractable so as to not obstruct the bed of the pickup truck when the hitch is not in use. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,143,393, 5,971,418, 6,095,545, 6,199,890, 6,447,000, 6,533,308, 7,168,727 and 7,775,545 each incorporated by reference.
Some hitches are provided as part of the original equipment of the pick-up truck, but many others are installed as after-market equipment into the pickup truck. One of the basic tasks of the after-market gooseneck installer is to cut one or more holes in the bed of the pick up truck which aligns with the location(s) where the hitch will extend through the bed. For instance, some gooseneck hitches require cutting rectangular opening through the bed of the pickup truck, while others require cutting a circular hole (such as 4 inches in diameter) in the bed of the pickup truck.
To keep the bed as functional and attractive as possible, the cut hole should be very precisely positioned to match the desired location of the underbed hitch structure. Depending upon the make or model of pickup truck, there may be little or no flexibility in deciding where to position the underbed hitch structure, due to interference with frame components, exhaust lines, electrical lines, brake lines, fuel lines or other vehicle components. While expert installers may be able to achieve the precise positioning required, novice or less skilled installers often have trouble correctly positioning the hole through the pick-up bed. The typical result is additional work and cutting a larger, less attractive, possibly uncircular hole through the bed to make the hitch mate up through the cut hole.
The difficulty in correctly positioning the hole through the pickup bed is known. One solution is to simply make the critical measurements, from the box of the vehicle and between the wheel wells on each side, as precisely as possible. Another of the proposed solutions is the use of a cardboard or paper template, positioned into the bed of the pickup truck from above and mating with the outline of the bed, which shows the desired position for the hole. Such solutions, however, may require different dimensions and different templates for different pickup trucks, which have different shapes and sizes of beds, and/or slightly different positions on the frame where the underbed hitch structure is mounted. The template solutions also require correct and precise positioning of the template within the bed, which is not always achieved. Better and more efficient solutions are needed.